Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are to be provided with “VVIP status” by Dutch police royal and diplomatic protection ahead of their visit to the Netherlands this weekend for the Invictus Games.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will travel with a private security team who have liaised with and confirmed that the couple will be protected by in-country officials.

The couple’s trip comes just weeks after Harry stayed away from his granddad, the Duke of Edinburgh’s memorial service in London last month.

He is currently locked in a bitter legal battle with the British government after his taxpayer-funded Met Police armed guards were removed when he quit royal duties.

In High Court papers the duke says he “does not feel safe” in Britain without armed security and says the decision is “unlawful” and “unfair”.

The trip to Netherlands will be Meghan’s first trip outside of the United States for two years to accompany Harry to Saturday’s opening ceremony, while they will be followed by a documentary crew from streaming giant Netflix along the way.

Security sources have confirmed that the Duke and Duchess’s private security team have liaised with Dutch authorities and secured a “high level multi-agency protection programme” for the couple for the duration of their trip.

It includes direct links to all law enforcement and emergency services, as well as “detailed extraction processes” in the event of a “personal or larger scale terror attack”.

urces have confirmed reports that the Dutch national police’s DKDB Royal and Diplomatic Security Service will have overall responsibility for the Sussexes.